


Far Cry 3: Hell in Wonderland

by ArchiveofRed91



Category: Far Cry 3
Genre: Blood and Gore, Drugs, F/M, Fanfiction, Far Cry 3 - Freeform, Insanity, Slave Trading, Slow Burn, Smut, Violence, slight major character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-03-28 21:23:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13912479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchiveofRed91/pseuds/ArchiveofRed91
Summary: A group of rich friends went on a vacation to Bangkok to celebrate their rich heritage when they are told of an island where freedom could be in the palm of their hands. Tekari Streit wants nothing more than to spend the time with her family, but it all goes wrong when a group of pirates attack and hold them for ransom.Tekari is thrown into the middle of a war of insanity and morality once she comes under the wing of the pirate lord, now she faces something she never would have imagined she would have to face with the new influences around her.Herself.(A Far Cry 3 Fanfiction)





	1. Tourists

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this was a fanfic that I've brought over from Wattpad because, personally, I find this site is better. Please feel free to leave a comment and a Kudos and I hope you enjoy.
> 
> -Valkyrie

Tekari paced from one end of the yacht to the other, finally accustomed to the constant side-to-side rocking of the boat over the ocean waves. A few times it would catch her off guard and force her to to grasp for the closest, somewhat stable object to avoid falling into the warm sea or hitting the deck again.

As her soft black hair flowed freely in the fresh breeze, the relieving spray of cold seawater strayed from the waves that crashed against the yacht and touched her skin, leaving a pleasant chill that traveled up and down her arms. She wandered to the booth underneath the top tier, craving a release from the constant burning rays from the sun that was bent on finding every piece of her that wasn't covered with sunscreen or clothes and make it a burning red. With pale skin such as her own, she could never be too cautious against the force of the sun.

She slouched there with a sigh, leaning a head on a hand lazily and listening to the rolling and splashing of the ocean blue. A sudden overbearing burst of laughter came from the stairs that led below deck and two men appeared: Aaron, Tekari's boyfriend. A simple flat bill cap made his light brown hair curve at the ends. He was shirtless, his smooth stomach glistening with sweat and he was wearing only a pair of swim shorts with a smile on his slightly crooked teeth.

Trailing behind Aaron was Lance, Tekari's twin brother although they look nothing alike now since she'd dyed her hair. She did have soft golden hair like him once, like mom and dad, too. But she didn't want to be or look like them, being her normal rebellious self. She wanted to be an individual... she got that at the cost of two pissed-off parents and a couple of siblings teasing her. His locks of gold glistened with water, reminding Tekari of when hers did the same. 

"Jay!" Lance barked up to the tier on the yacht, where Jay was stationed. Said man stood up from his chair, his long chocolate brown hair blew lightly in the breeze as he looked down. He was at the wheel of the yacht, a pair of sunglasses shielded his chestnut eyes.

"What?" He barked back, his voice cracking from the heat and lack of use. He spent most of his time today looking around the horizon for any sign of... anything that wasn't rolling waves and endless expanse of sky.

Lance shaded his eyes with his hand as the sun burned ever brighter at its highest peak. "You see anything yet?"

Jay picked up a pair of binoculars and began to scan the thin line where water met sky like he's done for the thousandth time that day, spinning lousily into a 360. Searching for anything that didn't shine against the sun like the relentless waves, glimmering and constantly moving. "Not a damn thing..." He sighed bluntly. "I'll keep us going south-west."

"Alright."

Tekari groaned with frustration. "Lance, it has been three days," she complained, her voice was rough from thirst which she quenched with the remaining alcohol sitting in her glass on the smooth table in front of her, putting her feet up on it casually, the burn of the alcohol making its way to pool in her empty stomach. "We are out of booze and no sign of an island at all!"

"I know, Kari!" Her brother snapped back. "I know!"

"Well, where is it?"

"Kari, shut up! We'll keep going for a little while longer and if nothing comes up then we'll turn around and go home!"

She sneered at her brother and crossed her arms while Lance went over and got a fishing rod ready to cast out into the blue waves, shaking his head slightly with a sigh of annoyance. Tekari knew he was worried nothing would show up, too, but she just couldn't help but give him shit about. She couldn't believe her brother... smart, all A's Lance, was putting his faith into the drunken, rambling words from a random man at a bar in Bangkok, where they were on a vacation. This man, according to Lance, told him of an island that was way out in the middle of the ocean. The drunk man said it's not on the map and it apparently didn't have any coordinates... either that or he was too intoxicated to remember them. All he said that was location-related was 'South-East' from the docks. 

The man said you could do literally anything on the island and even Tekari had to admit, he gave rather enticing details of 'anything.' Cliff diving, hang gliding, sight seeing. As much as Tekari had liked the sound of doing anything to her desire she couldn't come to be able to trust the words of this drunken man... something felt wrong about the whole thing, obviously. She only came along because she liked the thought of a boat trip and she had to get away from the drain of society. Hell, maybe they would find an island?

So, here they were. In the middle of the south Pacific Ocean and if there really was a spit of land somewhere, it was going to be a two week long vacation while mom and dad were away to Russia on a business trip, making another million bucks on some random plan or something like that. She'd never cared enough to be curious of their business.

Tekari sighed and thought about the dire situation she and everyone else on the yacht with her was in... they were in the middle of the damn ocean with no more alcohol... supply suddenly ran short the night before, no thanks to Jay.  
Aaron saw her frustration and made his way over to his girlfriend and sat besides her, putting an arm around her slightly burnt shoulders in an attempt to cheer up her dwindling good mood. She smiled meekly at him and leaned into his embrace after he planted a soothing kiss on her cheek. "It'll be okay." He reassured. "Even if we don't find anything, like you said, it'll still have been fun." 

Tekari nodded in agreement, a smile on her soft lips; "Yeah it will. I'm happy you came." 

He gave a quick 'of course I'd come' while laying his head on hers and looking out at the ocean. 

She actually couldn't help but feel like she shouldn't be complaining, the scenery was beautiful despite it being only pure blue as far as the eye can see. They were also still decently supplied with food and it was actually much better then being in the city with all the noises with cars and construction, not to mention being around people. She hated people sometimes. Here, the air was fresh and filled with the sound of waves dancing together and the gentle rocking of the boat that had helped Tekari fall asleep the last few nights. It was peaceful and she didn't mind it. 

She could appreciate the trip in hindsight even if there wasn't an island. They would all enjoy themselves in the end... Well, she would, at least. Even if she didn't act like it just so she could annoy her brother.

A few minutes filled with waves and an almost sleepy calmness caused by the heat of the sun had passed before Sarah, Tekari and Lance's younger sister, came up from the bottom deck and she was still on her phone, much to Tekari's dismay. Her eyes dug into the lighted screen and the older sibling hated it. Sarah would sit below deck just about all day, texting and texting. She seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she should be spending time with everyone. Hell, Tekari thought she was oblivious to the fact she was on a damn boat in the first place. How the hell did she even have service out here?

Her short blonde hair whipped around in the breeze a bit, her colorful brand-name clothes, wide brimmed sunglasses and diamond earrings made her look expensive. She sure acted like she was at times.

Tekari's nose crinkled as Sarah sat down across from her, lifting up her sunglasses so that she could see the phone screen in the shade. Tekari sighed out another breath of heated frustration that could compare to the suns relentless rays. "Sarah." She stated calmly, but her patience has never been thick and it grew even thinner as she got no response. The younger sister didn't even have headphones in, her eyes were just so entertained by her phone that it made her block out the sound of the world around her. Aaron let out a small chuckle of disbelief.

"Sarah!" Tekari barked, making both Aaron and Sarah jump with the volume of her tone.

"What?" Sarah growled, matching her annoyance.

"Put the damn phone away." The older hissed through her gritted teeth, but she was trying to smile kindly even though she knew it looked ridiculously sarcastic. Sarah didn't need to be on her phone, she could enjoy the time with the family and that's what Tekari told her.

"Why?" Sarah snorted. "We aren't doing anything and I'm bored."

Blowing a stream of air from her mouth, making her bangs flow out from its way in a futile attempt to calm herself down, Tekari quickly reached over, grabbed Sarah's phone, and threw it into the water behind her as if the word 'caring' was just gibberish in her vocabulary.

"What the hell!" Sarah screamed, scrambling to look over the side of the yacht as her phone disappeared into the constant mixing water. Aaron tucked his lips into his mouth, trying not to laugh with a look of amused astonishment, his green eyes wide as the younger siblings anger flared visibly. 

Tekari shrugged, as if she had no idea what just happened. "I told you to put the damn phone away," She stated bluntly. "you can find something else to entertain you."

Sarah stood up and slammed her hands on the, rather sturdy, table. Lance and Jay looked over, hearing the ruckus Sarah was making from her little fit. Lance quickly shrugged it off and carelessly threw out another cast when he saw it was just her. He was beyond used to it. 

Sarah, with an icy fury in her blue eyes, yelled; "I hate you!"

Tekari's eyes widened with false concern and awe, not phased by her sister's anger. "Okay." She whispered sarcastically. Sarah's mouth gaped open with disbelief as she stomped back angrily to the bottom deck, where she most likely disappeared to her bunk.

Jay stood up with a beer in one hand and his camera in the other, recording everything. "... Wooow." He drawled once he was sure that Sarah was out earshot.

Aaron started laughing, making Tekari join with a chuckle. "She's so bratty." She sighed with little disbelief.

"You did the right thing, Kari." Lance complimented, casting another line, which was more than likely going to fail at catching anything like it has all the other times. "I was getting tired of seeing her on that damn thing too." 

"I know." Tekari smirked.

Letting out another chuckle and laughed at his long-known companion, Jay just switched his camera off and sat back down. Tekari and Jay were good friends, so he expected nonetheless from her. They've known her since they were kids and they've been buddies ever since and as they got older, he was able to predict Tekari's actions more. She was a take no shit kind of girl and the second Sarah walked out with her phone, Jay knew it was going to be destroyed in some manner. It was just the matter of how that he wanted to witness. 

It was silent after a while now, the boredom nestling back in and reverberating in all of their minds. Lance was still fishing, not caching a thing. Jay had cracked open yet another beer, which was the last of what he had brought and Tekari laid her head on Aaron's shoulder, closing her eyes and feeling the rocking of the yacht. Sarah was most likely crying below deck. Tekari's eyebrow twitched. Still, trying to convince herself that what she did to Sarah's phone was right as a tinge of guilt began to emerge... It was at boring moments like this and she herself wouldn't mind having her phone.

There suddenly was second where Jay stirred in his seat hurriedly and all eyes glanced at him. He grabbed his binoculars and stared intently into the horizon. "H-hey!" He hollered suddenly, excitement made his voice rattle. "I think I see something!"

Everyone glowered at him. "You're drunk Jay." Aaron accused and everyone lost interest almost immediately.

"I could be!" He yelled pretty matter-of-factly. "But, I still think I see something!"

Everyone inwardly groaned and Lance went and climbed onto the tier Jay was on, snatching the binoculars from him angrily and looking in the general direction Jay was pointing to. Tekari stood up as her heart skipped a beat. Maybe... 

After a few tense moments; "Hey, guys... I think I see something, too." A trace of a smile then turned into a full grin. "Hell yeah! Thats definitely an island. Fucking huge!"

Aaron stood up and stood next to the dark haired girl to look but they didn't need the binoculars now. They could already see the faint outline of an island, a shaded blotch protruding out from the endless blue water. It looked almost like a mirage, like the opposite of an oasis in the desert... but, everyone else could see it. It was real and despite the distance, they could already see how huge this island was. A mountain range towered and reached up into the blue skies.

"Thats it!" Lance cheered, quickly pulling a small map from his pocket. He found the yacht's coordinates and saw that there wasn't an island anywhere near them on it. This was it, he was positive. Finally, the island... time to do whatever the hell they wanted.


	2. Rook Island

As they grew closer and closer to the island, they could make out more of its distinguishing features. 

"It's beautiful..." Tekari gasped, in as much awe as the others. Everyone, except for Sarah of course, had gathered at the front of the boat to watch the island grow closer to their grasp. There was a lush jungle, teeming and thriving with life. The different shades of the green trees masked the vibrant colored undergrowth and small patches of flowers stood out like flags in reds, yellows and the occasional blue. In the distance behind the jungle, were the outlines of mountains against the sky, showing the newcomers that this was not a small place, but yet, had not made its home onto any map they could find. 

"Are those buildings?" Jay pointed out a few hazy gray and brown structures in the sea of green vegetation and among the sun baked sands. Sure enough, a closer look and they saw people moving among the buildings. 

Lance hummed a bit, unsure. "Most likely," He nodded. "I already told you about the Natives, the guy said that they didn't really care if tourists came to the island or not... they just sorta leave you alone."

Tekari clenched her jaw as a knot of worried nerves bundled in her core, she didn't know how sure she was about how they will 'sorta' leave you alone. "I hope so," She mumbled lowly, burying her nerves beneath the relief and joy. "I don't want to deal with hostiles." 

Aaron scoffed and looked at her sternly, but jokingly. "Yeah, you say that as if they're going to be the hostile ones." 

She laughed breathily at him and hugged him around the waist as his arm pulled her to him. Soon, she could make out a small beachside village; rickety docks reached out to the ocean, buildings constructed of both cement, which was broken and withered, and rusted corrugated paneling. Some buildings had tattered blue tarps for makeshift roofing.

There were other boats tied to the railing of the multiple docks that were lined up neatly. Even the boats were rusted and seemed unstable, but they were set up with heavy nets and people loaded and unloaded crates from them, showing they were still trusted to take them out on the dancing ocean. 

Tekari took a moment to admire how even the human construction couldn't destroy the beauty. As a matter of fact, it only made it prettier in a way. The Natives weren't pouring pollution into the air, which was why it smelled so pure. It was untainted by the smog of toxins; instead was filled with the salt freshened scent of the ocean and a calm breeze casted from the jungle, making the waxy leaves shiver in a pleasant hiss.

The sands that seemed to be the outer shell of the green forest were a pale white and rippled like small dunes that mimicked the waters waves. The water was the most clean and deep blue she's ever seen, and the tips of the waves were white with foam as they touched the shore, soaking into the parched sands.

Once they were closer to the docks, Aaron leaped out with the thick rope attached to a small hook on the side of the boat and tied it firmly to the dehydrated pillar of wood coming out of the water that supported the dock. 

Lance joined Aaron and stretched his arms into the air. "We made it!" He almost screamed with victory, looking back at the rest of the group with his forearms resting on top of his head.

Tekari smiled and laughed along with the others. "Woo!" She, at this point, was just happy to finally be on dry land and didn't give a shit if people were looking at her oddly or not, which... they probably were already.

Jay turned the boat engine off after it was secured tightly to the docks and jumped from the tier, landing on the wooden boards with a heavy thud, which was most likely directed to alert Sarah below deck. He clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Okay," he smiled, filled with determination and a plan on his mind. He sounded all ready to go, that was the typical Jay fashion, he never ran out of energy. "What's our plan of attack on this bitch?"

Lance chuckled and hopped back onto the boat. "Well, we need to figure out exactly where we're heading." He stretched. "The guy at the bar mentioned something about a place called 'Amanaki Town.' He said there would be some friendly people there who would be willing to take us on a tour. Tell us places of interest and-"

"Aww, fuck that." Jay interrupted impatiently. "Where are all the bars at? I wanna tap some island ass-"

"Shut up, Jay." The blonde yelled in a commanding outburst. "Anyways... I'm thinking we can find a map or something, then we can go on our merry little way and find Amanaki Town. Then, we can go on a tour and then Jay can find his magical lover and they can live happily ever after."

Jay stared hard at Lance. "You suck at making plans." 

Tekari and Aaron burst out laughing, while Lance sighed with rising annoyance. "Whatever. We get a map, find the village, and then boom, whatever we want from there."

"Much better." Jay finally cheered.

With everyone choosing the 'plan', they got dressed and headed off into the village, which actually turned out to consist of small shops, selling various goods like fish and exotic things like herbs or fruits that they've never seen before.

Even though they were dressed in semi-normal clothes, nothing too flashy or expensive-looking, they still seemed to stand out from everyone and of course, some people stared, and not always approvingly. The 'tourist' look was so much different than everyone else. 

The natives all had tan skin, black or brown hair and torn and stained clothes... then there was a group of teens with pale skin and blonde hair that stood out like lights in the dark, wearing expensive name-brand clothes in vibrant colors that matched the flowers hidden away in the jungle. Most of the people only stared at them for a moment before deciding they had better things to do, others seemed to be quick to get bothered or almost concerned by their presence.

Tekari gazed around, avoiding eye contact as much as possible, smiling at those whom she did meet eyes with... only a few smiled back. They didn't seem like they were unfriendly, they just weren't... used to being smiled at by random people who entered the island, she guessed. Maybe it was a cultural thing here? More so common sense, she thought.

Lance went from shop to shop, discovering that the people spoke very good English but their voices were riddled with accents. Some heavier than others but, in the end, it seemed no one had a map or knew of a way to get to the town that Lance was so sure that they should be heading to. 

Tekari huffed out a breath of annoyance as he left yet another fruit shop without any new information. People kept insisting they didn't know how to get to this Amanaki Town and they were quick to turn him away.

Sarah, whom hasn't said anything to anyone since they left the boat, let out an overdramatic, irritated groan. Her eyes were still puffy and red, she must have been bawling. 

Little brat... Tekari thought to herself, letting the back of her mind continue to dwell on how angry she was at her fair haired sister.

"Damn, its hot..." Jay drawled, using the back of his hand to wipe away the beads of sweat that collected on his brow. 

"Yeah it is..." Aaron agreed, taking a greedy sip from a water bottle that was soaked with condensation, passing it to Tekari, which she gratefully took. 

Tekari nodded a she passed the bottle back. Already, she could feel her throat going dry, despite the chill of the iced water. The rays of heat beat down on her pale skin from the sun that beamed in the infinite blue, cloudless sky... she could already feel it begin to crisp into a flaking burn. She had forgotten to put on sunscreen... she was going to pay for that. 

Meanwhile, Lance kept persisting and asked about every single shop keeper and some passerby's until they got to the last building, which was the only one that had a complete and solid wall and ceiling, which were merely chipped cement blocks and a torn blue tarp. 

Shards of light stabbed into the darkness through small holes in the plastic and the eroded brick walls as they stepped in. This shop was different from the others, product-wise... The other shops were selling food-related thing like fruit, fish, one even had bundles of exotic flowers, this one, on the other hand, was selling very heavy duty guns that formed black shapes in the dark. 

These guns were put into rows on the walls, not protected by anything. They were out in the open, ready to be taken.

Tekari jumped a little when she realized there was a man at the desk inside, his feet were hiked up on the table and his hands were busy cleaning off a machete with a stained white cloth. He had dark hair, a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He knew well of their intrusion in his shop, judging by the heavy scowl on his face after he'd glanced up once but he was intently ignoring them by shining the blade in his grasp. That was unsettling, both the knife he polished with fierce intent and that he was trying to ignore them with even fiercer. Shouldn't he be watching them to make sure they don't take anything? She easily could if she wanted to...

But the last thing on her mind was taking, or even touching, one of the weapons in this shop. The vibe rattled her spine in a creepy way.

For a moment, the group hesitated to enter the dark little place; everything was ominous and just downright strange. Especially the man at the desk, almost completely hidden in the shade. Lance glared back at the group who just stared back with wide eyes and, considering his options, he entered the shop hesitantly. Tekari followed, unable to keep her curiosity contained and wanted to be there if something bad happened. She wanted to hear the conversation, see how this man acted and how her brother would fail to respond and be there to help him... Or watch him struggle, there really wasn't an in-between option when it came to her and her brother.

Once Tekari had stepped through the border where even the light feared to enter, she saw all of the heavy weaponry once hidden in shadows from the outside. This place, again, was rather... open to the public. More so than it should have been, she thought. There were even grenades laying in a woven basket, as if they were fruits which you could 'take your pick.'

"How can I help you?" The man at the desk finally grunted, his gravelly voice seemed to only make the atmosphere even creepier and Tekari couldn't help but compare it to that one overly-squeaky door in a silent house. He looked up at them and seemed to almost laugh at what he saw. A boy and a girl, dressed in bright colors and looking as clueless as ever. Behind them were even more. Another girl, younger, and two more boys. That could only mean one thing. 

Tourists.

Tekari stared at him as his chest heaved in a silent sigh, studying him like he studied them. He had some sort of dark tribal tattoo starting from his shoulder all the way down to his elbow. It swirled and twisted into different patterns that made it seem like it was a natural mark, not done by a needle. There were depictions of bears and deer surrounded by inked flowers and curved lines that melded into his dark skin. It was intriguing to her how everything swirled together and yet intimidating by how huge the tattoo was and the thought of the man going through all the pain to get it... It made Tekari want to get a tattoo while she was here, if she could. A permanent souvenir. If it looked as cool as him, the pain would be worth it. 

"We ain't open to tourist..." The man finally spoke again, inspecting the clean machete once more before placing it down. He then picked up a hunting knife and started to polish that. 

"U-uh, no, we uh..." Lance stuttered awkwardly before pushing himself to finish. "Can you help us get a map, or directions or something?"

The man pulled out a drawer in the desk he sat at and plopped a folded piece of paper on the surface. Lance picked it up, afraid to get his hand close to the man with a knife in his grasp. He opened up the crisp paper to see a map with various lines for roads. Tekari was more amused with how huge the island was depicted, even as a mere map and there were two? One north and one south. 

"Umm... would you happen to know how to get to a place called 'Amanaki Town'?" Her brother unintentionally whimpered a little and it made Tekari cross her arms and raise an eyebrow at him. Sure, she can understand being nervous but he was overdoing it.

The man suddenly leaned forwards, looking at them with dark, judgmental eyes like a predator peering through a wall of leaves to study if it's prey was worth it before he struck. His eyes were a rich brown and they looked Lance over, then looked at Tekari. His gaze lingered longer than she was comfortable with and it made her readjust her arms over her chest. Lance moved in front of her a bit, sensing her discomfort. "You some sort of rich kid tourist?" A frustration, much like Lance's when he couldn't get directions, appeared within his tone. Tekari cringed when she could hear the slight amusement in his voice as he let his eyes wash over her only once more before going back to polishing the knife. 

Lance shrugged and answered; "Uh... Yeah, I guess..." 

The man let out another deep, not-so-silent sigh. "Amanaki's attracting more tourist...." He drawled a little then trailed off, mumbling something. "Anyways, you won't last long. There's a cargo truck that comes here everyday, you just missed it... but, it'll come back tomorrow around noon. You can take that truck to a halfway point, or maybe all the way to the town, I don't know."

A large smile overtook Lances lips and he nodded his gratitude at the man, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. "Thanks."

The man just laughed with disbelief; "Good luck..." 

Tekari could hear the sarcasm screaming behind a sly tone and eagerly followed her brother out but his words echoed. "You won't last long." 

~~~

The group spent the rest of their time sitting on the docked boat and feasted on what was left of their stock, simply a few bags of chips and sandwiches. They had all decided to stay on the boat for that night and rest up until tomorrow. Then, they would take the truck to Amanaki Town.

Jay had his video camera out again even though nothing particularly interesting was happening. "We are going to stay another night on this boat," He explained to the camera as if he was talking on the phone, breaking the silence of the shimmering ocean.

There was a flock of seagulls that flew off noisily in the distance and into the orange sky making Jay stand up and let out a load squawk in response before wandering around the deck aimlessly, scuffing his feet. "I think we are all anxious to, uh... go out and do stuff. Transport will be here tomorrow, though... It's just the waiting suspense to want to go out and do something with our lives. Well, I guess finding an unmapped island in the middle of the ocean counts as doing something with your life."

Tekari sighed and put on a thin layer sunscreen then felt herself getting abruptly lifted into the air, then followed by the sudden force of gravity taking hold of her weight. She screamed but was silenced when water swallowed everything around her, including herself.


	3. Serenity

Tekari's eyes stung as her vision blurred. Chilled, salty water snaked into her lungs and burned its path in her nose before she instinctively held what little of her breath she had left before forcing herself up to the surface of the ocean, hacking and coughing with every deep and desperate breath.

She heard shrill laughter beyond her own gasping coming from the boat and looked up to see Aaron, leaning over the rail and chuckling. The perpetrator of her situation and why she was now in the ocean.

"Aaron!" She wheezed, voice rasped by her wheezing. "You asshole!" 

Tekari didn't stay mad for long as she heard the resounding force of everyones laughter that and the cool water chilled her fury until it evaporated off of her skin like sweat. She waded around for a moment as she began to chuckle, up to her stomach in water. At first it felt almost ice cold but soon it was an escape to the stifling heat of the setting sun, soft sand swirled around her feet like an underwater fog wherever she stepped, making the water turn cloudy.

Tekari beckoned over the relentless sound of waves that soothed her burnt shoulders and arms as they rolled up around her body, caressing and massaging her tired muscles. "Come into the water!"

Jay quickly stood up, pulled his shirt over his head and clenched his sunglasses in his hand before he leapt into the water, making a big splash before he popped up to the surface, hooting with laughter. He placed his sunglasses back and floated around on his back. "That feels fucking nice..." He swore happily, running a hand through his hair to smooth it down. Soon Lance, Aaron and even Sarah joined. Everyone splashing around in the liquified sky.

Tekari soon went to the shore to catch her breath and to try to find shells but, surprisingly, it was all just smooth sand that coated the bottom of her feet. Her hair was wet and sticking together in thin, frizzy locks as she scuffed around her feet in hopes of discovering at least a rock since there were no shells. There wasn't really anything worth keeping but her persistent eyes continued to scan the sand until she found a tiny somewhat smooth object half buried and under a thin layer of water. She bent down and carefully plucked the object from the sand that concealed it, swishing it around in the waves to investigate it and wash it off.

She saw two pointed peaks coming off of it and stared at it, not afraid but, more disturbed... It was a tooth. A molar, from a deer or, as a more daunting thought entered her mind, from a human? 

She quickly tossed it back into the sand after rolling it around in her palm and swished her hands off in the water with repulsion, reassuring herself that it was just a misplaced piece. Perhaps someone died at sea and their tooth had washed up? She ignored the thought of how slim those chances would be but, everyone has teeth and yet she still got a bad feel from the one she happened to encounter from the ocean.

Tekari looked at the others to see they were slowly wandering back to shore as the sun was on the verge of sinking into the ocean in the distance, making the waves shimmer like a mass of gold. She smiled with content and they all got onto the boat and started to dry off. 

~~~~  
Later that night Tekari found herself lying awake, Aaron snored softly next to her with a warm hand on her back, sound asleep. She tried to close her eyes but to no avail at the pursuit of sleep. She eventually just got up and dressed into a pair of sweatpants, tugged a loose hoodie over her head and virtually silently, she exited the bottom deck and went outside into the moonlit darkness of nighttime, cushioning her every step as if her life counted on it but she merely just wanted to ensure she wasn't going to awake anyone. 

The little market area on the beach now seemed to be closed and all that was left were a few people standing around and smoking, their cigarettes were tiny red embers in the blanket of night. Only the moon lit the sky, stars hid behind its brightness.

She hopped up onto the dock and went to sit at the end of it, gently folding her legs up against her chest and resting her chin on her knees. The moon glazed the top of the dancing water into a milky road that spread out over the horizon. The air was much cooler than in the daytime, a breeze casted from the waves was able to make her shiver in the confines of her sweatshirt.

She watched the rippling water, the calming sound of the waves replaced the sounds of people chatting at the market... The noise of boat motors was replaced by birds. Wind whispered to the trees and trees hushed to one another. Wild tropical fowl sung their songs... it was the essence of calm and the definition of peace. The island seemed to be more alive now than in the day. 

Tekari found she was smiling gently when she thought about all that has happened. They finally found the island, turned out the drunk guy, and Lance, were right. Her heart sat heavy with anxiety, she was more than ready to explore this place. If it was nice like this in the nighttime, she couldn't wait to see what it would look like deeper in the jungle under the light of day. 

The more she thought, the heavier her eyelids grew and soon they began to flutter, natures chorus singing her a soothing lullaby and she began thinking how much more she liked the sounds here, rather than the relentless ruckus of the city where people honked their car horns carelessly and relentlessly in the night. 

The smell of the air was a different type of intoxicating here, it was more pleasant than anything. She finally just gave in and laid down on her back, the moon bathing her pale skin in its light and the sound of the waves rolling beneath the dock caressed her and washed away the headache from her burns and all of her worries... her mind became light but, in a good way. Like she was floating and before she could fall asleep, she got back up, struggling a bit since she was on the verge of sleep, and went back to bed. Silently, she curled up next to Aaron's warm body, anxious for the next day to arrive but, not anxious enough to stop her from sleeping.


	4. Pirates

It was only a few hours later when Tekari was able to say she actually woke up to the blaring shrieks of the alarm clock. The bright rivers of sunlight leaked in through the port window, which served as another and more pleasant alarm to wake up to. One she preferred more than the shriek of the clock. 

She got up on the first ring and turned it off, allowing Aaron to get the extra sleep while she was going to take the time to do her hair. She was in an exceptionally good mood this morning and could't help but thank the quiet alone time she had last night, short as it may have been but after the stress of being on the boat she needed it as the trip lasted so long she felt trapped amongst her own siblings and friends. 

She could only stand even them for so long.

After she finished brushing through her mess of dark hair, Tekari picked out a pair of jeans, sneakers and a simple black top then accented it all with a bandanna-style hair band, avoiding its intended purpose by letting her soft bangs cover of her forehead and frame her sculpted cheeks. She even took a little more extra time to do a small amount of makeup which was quite unusual for her but never the less her good mood had her applying a gentle shade of purple to her eyelids that complimented the colors of her blue orbs nicely and she smiled gently to herself at how nice it looked.

Tekari then proceeded to repack her belongings, checking frequently to see if she had gotten everything and when she was finished she hauled her bag to the upper deck. As soon as she stepped outside, the atmosphere of another hot day greeted her fervently. The sun beamed in the sky with a few thick white clouds, floating pleasantly along with the breeze but the rays of heat washed her into another burst of happiness and amusement she couldn't seem to explain the presence of.

Tekari was applying a thin layer of sunscreen when she noticed the burns on her shoulders were as bright and urgent as they were the night before. They didn't hurt as bad, due to the medication but they were still unsightly and she knew would be pure agony if she didn't continue the medicine. She'd hoped she wouldn't get sick like the one time when they'd gone to Florida, when she dismissed using sunscreen on her pale skin and almost immediately paid the price at the end of the day as she was too sick to go to dinner that night with the rest of her family. The fever spread over her body and she was too weak to even roll over in her bed.

Tekari packed away the sunscreen for well-intended further use when the door to the bottom deck opened and Sarah walked out. She wore a pair of tan capris and a green T-shirt with the faded outline of a panda on it. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and, unlike Tekari, she used the hairband to actually pull her hair back. She looked exhausted and the amount of makeup she wore couldn't hide the sulking expression on her face.

Despite how much she wanted to bite her tongue, she greeted her sister. "Good morning..." She muttered lightly, that all knowing and slightly frustrated tone still writhing in her voice. She knew she and Sarah were still going to be on thin ice. The older sibling would be more than happy to let it go, but she knew the younger was going to be more stubborn. Of course, as Tekari had thrown her phone over the side of boat, Sarah was more than likely still angered. 

But, much to the elders surprise, the younger actually mumbled back a greeting beneath her exasperated voice and Tekari was a taken aback, usually Sarah would just ignore her if they were in an argument as confrontation was never her strong suit whereas Tekari has always been a negotiated and the fear of conversation never dwelled in her mind before.

"How did you sleep?" The older sister decided to press further.

Sarah shrugged a little and nodded once. "Okay, I guess... Im just happy we found the island. I have trouble sleeping on the boat."

"Yeah."

It was silent for a few moments. Then, as Tekari was admiring the sky through her dark sunglasses, she felt something wrap around her torso and looked down to see that Sarah had suddenly embraced her and was laying her ear against her shoulder. 

Tekari awkwardly returned the hug, hands patted the younger siblings back. Her eyes wide with shock and a small amount of fear as she may have had something planned or maybe even something wrong with Sarah. Maybe Tekari wasn't the only one made feverish by the sun?

"I'm sorry..." Sarah mumbled apologetically into Tekari's shoulder. 

Tekari's eyebrow twitched a bit. She knew what Sarah meant but she was surprised that she was actually... apologizing?That was a new trick she didn't know her sister was even capable of learning.

"U-uh..." She stumbled over her words for a moment, still in complete and thorough shock as she gathered her wits eventually and then felt that this was a genuine apology with no backlashes or faux meaning behind it. She took it as it was. "It's all good, sis." Tekari smiled a little, pleased that Sarah was actually apologizing but, mostly in victory. "It's just, you know... we love you and wanna spend time with you and that's hard for us to do when you sit on your phone all day."

"I know... I'm sorry I said I hated you."

"I know you don't hate me, I'm not offended." They stood there for a few moments longer before separating at the sound of Lance and Jay heading up the steps towards them.

Once Jay's foot hit the deck, he stretched his arms into the clean, open air. "Ah," He sighed loudly, not a touch of tiredness was in his voice. "I feel great."

Aaron came up a second later. He, on the other hand, had dark circles under his eyes and looked rather moody. He was always like that, trying to get extra sleep and looking like he never truly got enough of it in the end. He could sleep for days if he were given the opportunity.

Lance of course with his busy schedule, wanted everyone up and energized but he paid no mind to Aaron as long as he was keeping up with the rest of them. Hell, he didn't mind Aaron even if he wasn't keep up, just so long as he wasn't holding back the group as Lance had a strict agenda and wanted to stick to it at all costs. "The truck will be here soon." He announced with a glance at the watch upon his wrist. "Let's hurry up and head out. We'll get to wherever we're going to stay and then see what we can occupy ourselves with."

"Booze!" Jay cheered, holding up his camera, which was now turned on to record the oncoming day.

Tekari laughed and punched his shoulder with a solid hit, making him stagger a little and laugh. "Like you need anymore!" She giggled when he pushed her back. "I think you're still drunk from two days ago."

"I may be. But, I'm fun when I'm drunk at least." He raised his eyebrows. 

"At least..." She wished it would make him less noisy, but it was alcohol. Not a miracle, unfortunately.

Everyone jumped up onto the dock and started to make their way to the small village, each hauling along their bags. Lance had ensured everyone had gotten their things before leaving in case someone decided to go through and steal their things, despite the fact there was nothing worth taking but empty beer cans and plastic zip-lock bags.

The sound of people talking among the shops, conversing amongst themselves, filled the air again. Along with the sound of boat motors and seagulls squawking as they picked up all the small pieces of fish scattered around that they could get to. Tekari smiled when she saw a few kids on the beach, playing around in the cold water. Something about it warmed her heart. All of the kids back home only seemed interested in moping around on their phones all the time. Spoiled brats wanting tablets and expensive game consoles while these kids here were perfectly content with playing with sticks and the foamy ocean waves.

"What do you want to do first, Kari?" Jay suddenly asked, pulling her away from her thoughts on home, much to her thanks. He kept a walking pace besides her so he could have his camera shoved towards her direction and it made her feel like a temporary star to the video he was creating.

Tekari smiled. "Hmm..." She hummed to herself. What did she want to do? It's not like she had much of a choice, she was sure her brother had some sort of agenda. "I just wanna see the jungle... See all the animals and maybe meet some cool people." 

"That sounds like something you'd do, Kari. Just lame shit." Jay nudged her a bit with his elbows, laughing.

Tekari chuckled and rolled her eyes and looked back ahead. There was a large truck a the end of the dirt trail through the shops, a canvas top covered the back and people were climbing out of it. That? That better not be it. Tekari's brows furrowed together as she concluded a mule was better suited to carry all of them instead of that rusty thing...

"That must be it?" Lance sighed as he turned to look at everyone, likely thinking the same thing as his twin. "Well, we might be a bit early but, I guess we can just sit around and wait."

Jay put away his camera temporarily. "Yeah. We don't have anything else to do... Lets just make sure we're on the right... you know, transport thingy." He coughed into his elbow once they gotten close to the tailpipe of the truck, which was spewing heavy black smoke.

Lance quickly rounded the corner of the truck to speak to the driver and Tekari tried to act like the smoke wasn't affecting her but, in truth, the amount and how toxic it smelled made her eyes water and the back of her throat raw and scratchy. Sarah just wandered off to escape it.

Aaron came up to her and waved the smoke away from her face with his hand and guided her away from it which she was pretending to be too tough and unaffected to do so on her own. She smiled and leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her as he laid his head on her shoulder, still sleepy. She planted a soft kiss on his temple, which she was sure was making him even more sleepy because he grunted in protest. 

Eventually, Lance came back and jumped into the back of the truck. "We're all good." He stated and sat down on one of the benches on the inside. Everyone followed his lead and sat down, the shade of the canvas over the truck bed casted a relief from the sun but not the heat, which seemed to just circulate in its metal body like an oven. Sweat stuck on their skin, creating a faux feeling of humidity.

Tekari sat all the way to the front and was able to look out a small window which viewed into the drivers seat and the front passenger. The window was covered poorly with a square of chicken wire and she could see a few shards of remaining glass that was trapped in the frame but, past that she was able to see through the windshield and the road ahead. 

Aaron put an arm around Tekari despite how hot it was and Sarah smiled at her as she sat down, facing her on the opposite bench. 

Lance kicked his feet out, sighing with boredom. "I really want to go jet skiing." He looked at Sarah with a wide grin. "That nice ocean..." 

Sarah rolled her eyes at him. "Filled with sharks." She deadpanned, but a slight amount of fear behind her tone. Sarah always seemed to have a a slight phobia of sharks and the ocean itself... she was fine when she was with everyone else, but she didn't do too good with deep water. Not because she couldn't swim, she was an apt swimmer, but the ocean frightened her understandably.

"So?" Lance protested. Jay directed his camera at him. "I'll wrestle a shark barehanded." He seemed to second guess himself from the sarcastic tone in his voice, but all the same, punching a fist into his palm for emphasis.

Sarah scoffed and rolled her eyes again, this time out of disbelief of the frequent stupidity of her older brother.

Lance was always like that, all bullheaded, he seemed to exaggerate about everything. Tekari figured he knew he wasn't as tough as he liked to say he was. As Tekari and Lance were growing up, they would always fight as siblings would and sometimes it would get physical but never too serious. 

Tekari, despite how small she was in stature, almost always got the better hand and took him down, twisting his arm behind his back and both of them would start laughing before she got yelled at by dad, who always seemed to favor her brother. Tekari even debated sometimes that her dad hated her but, mom always said he was just trying to 'show her what he expects her to be'. Tekari didn't want to be lawyer or anything like what he was expecting her to be... she was 20 years old and she had no idea what she wanted to do yet. Time was running out and she was out doing stuff like going to mysterious islands... She preferred to live for now rather than later.

Within a few minutes, a middle-age couple entered the truck and then two more Native men climbed into the front seat and started the engines. The tourists had to brace themselves, since the seats didn't come with any safety belts. Instead, Tekari used her feet and Aaron to hold herself in place while Sarah grasped the bench a little, worried she would slide into Jay, who seemed to care less if he slide across the bench. He was more preoccupied with his camera with a dumb grin on his face.

Within the moment they were off and once they were on the road, it didn't turn out to be as bumpy as Tekari figured it was going to be, so she relaxed her tense body after a bit. She was able to look out of the windshield from where she sat in the back seat and she admired how even the dirt road, which just tore a clearing through thick forest, was not able to destroy how pleasant it looked. The green jungle was still lively and the leaves, waxy and gleaming in the sun, reached out and scraped against the truck as they drove by, begging for admiration of its naturally pure emerald color. The sky was bright and patches of clouds would occasionally cover the sun, leaving the island in a temporary but relieving shade.

Tekari smiled slightly to herself as she looked at her sister, who wore a big smile as she spoke to the others then looked out the windshield again. She was happy she could make peace with her sister before they had gotten too far into the trip. While she didn't act like it, she hated that they had to argue like that. She still didn't regret throwing her phone into the ocean, though.

Tekari continued looking out the window while the boys chatted and laughed amongst themselves about what they were going to do once the trip really started. The elderly couple smiled gently at each other as if watching their own adored grandchildren.

They were passing through a large opening with little to no trees and the sun beating down on a triangle of green grass and waxy leaves that was at a fork in the road where there was a big slope that lead to a beach at the bottom, where the waves crashed forwards then receded. The truck made a right turn, forcing the ocean to tear away from her vision as the jungle view replaced it. The sides of the road they were driving on had thick trees, bushes and plants. They were going deeper into the island. Tekari imagined, the beauty would only intensify.

The sunlight streamed through the transparent leaves, making the shadows different shades that shimmered on the ground. Wind swirled into the truck, thankfully making it not as hot as it was earlier. The man at the wheel spoke to the other besides him, smiling and laughing. Tekari couldn't understand what he was saying, he spoke another, unfamiliar language. Presumably Spanish, since she felt like she could pick out a few words. Sarah abruptly bursted out with a laugh that made her cheeks red.

Suddenly, a deafening boom resounded into the air and all Tekari saw was a quick spark of yellow and the sudden wave of shattered glass, flying in all directions. The sound of it rocketing and hitting the metal interior was like heavy rain hitting concrete. Along with the glass was something that felt like the spray of the sea when the waves washed up, but it was warm and thick.

Tekari closed her eyes and used her arms to shield herself, a shriek she wasn't sure was her own or Sarah's. A chorus of yells and curses filled the truck, the surprise of whatever had just happened... and the sudden atmosphere that came with it.

Whatever it was, it was not good. Tekari had never witnessed something happening so fast, where you could even infer what was happening.

The truck was now speeding towards the green jungle. The only thing that stopped it was a tree that brought them to a halt immediately, more sparks and glass blurred around her. It was such an abrupt stop, that the combined force of Aaron and Lance slamming into her made her smack her head against the metal wall and her vision instantly became fuzzy. Edges of black encased her sight. She clutched the sides of her head in pain and Aaron pulled her close almost apologetically rather than in concern, realizing what had happened. 

"Tekari!" Sarah suddenly screeched above everyone else. She had her forearms wrapped around the back of her head and her teeth were clenched mercilessly. Tears messed with her makeup, black rivulets down her cheeks. 

It was all a sudden rush. The Native man and woman at the back of the truck got up once the impact had settled a bit and everyone could gain their bearings. "Is everyone alright?" the man urgently asked, glancing around frantically. His voice was shaky and alert. They were all shaky and alert now.

Tekari couldn't answer, the same could be said for everyone else. They were all too deep in shock. Aaron looked Tekari over in concern. There were red speckles all over her body, some spots were dripping down her pale skin.

"Kari," he snapped urgently. "Are you alright?"

She could only groan with pain as it throbbed behind her eyes, she clenched them shut and opened them in an attempt to clear her blurred, agonized vision. Eventually, after labored breathing and sitting still for a second, her head stopped spiraling and the first thing she saw was the front of the truck, which was crumpled like paper around the tree it had made contact with thick smoke pouring from every crevice. Glass was shattered and sprinkled on the dashboard, glimmering like stars in the sun light... as was the crimson blood that also adorned the dashboard. Thats when she saw him; The driver with his head on the wheel, eyes wide, about as wide as hers own and looking into the nothing that was a lifeless abyss. The last few moments of his life glinting in his pupils.

He had a bleeding hole struck directly in his forehead, a dead fucking shot. His companion, the man beside him, had the same fate with his head leaning back on the seat, where the blood ran down the port window in a singular drip.

Tekari shook with the fear and sudden realization that they were both just... Dead. So suddenly. She'd seen bodies before but only in caskets and only after they'd 'cleaned' up the corpse a bit, made death look almost graceful. This was far from graceful. Far from a nice casket.

Aaron was shaking her, pulling her away from her thought that were threatening to stifle the situation at hand. She was pulled back and heard someone yelling; "Hurry, we need to hurry!" The Native women was barking at them frantically, slightly out of breath and gesturing with her hand quickly to direct the tourist to follow. There was the loud but distant sounds of popping explosions, just invoking a feel of fear as no one knew exactly what they were but, Tekari knew it was gunfire. Something in the back of her mind wanted to deny it, though. Pretend all of this wasn't legitimate.

Stuff like this didn't happen, right?

Tekari quickly stood up with Aarons support, the grip on her arm was tight and almost bruising. Jay was on the floor but quickly had recovered as he hopped out of the back. A small stream of blood went down his forehead but he paid no mind as he helped Tekari out. The impact still made her woozy, but she knew that she had to follow the instructions the Native woman was granting them because something was definitely not right here. They were all like lost and panicked sheep, begging to be herded away from danger.

Once out of the truck and ankle deep in long thin blades of emerald tinted grass, Tekari ran her hand over her shoulder to feel the slick stinging and looked to see the top patch of her skin had been scratched off, revealing pink flesh, most likely caused from hitting the side of the truck when it stopped. It added to the pain of the burn that it was surrounded with. 

An unimaginable fear struck her when she saw that her blood was accompanied by another's at a closer glance. It looked like it was painted on her with a spray bottle, tiny speckles dressing her skin. She could feel it collecting and starting to itch and stick and it made her ill... She tried to wipe it away, but only seemed to make it spread more into thin translucent layers.

Aaron had to tug her along and bring her back to the situation at hand again. She looked at the Native woman, who was waiting alongside the man for everyone to get out of the truck. A look of pure worry was on her face, but she, nor the man besides her, had a look of curiosity. They... knew what was happening.

Once Tekari had spotted her, she grabbed Sarah's hand solidly. Pulling her to follow as she went to the woman, who was occupied with guiding everyone. Aaron and the others were still in the truck, getting their bags. Jay had hurt his hand and was cradling it, hissing through gritted teeth and Lance had to help him with his things.

The whole time, the relentless pop, pop, pop sound grew loader.

"What the hell is going on!" Tekari demanded, standing alongside the woman with wide horrified eyes. She held onto Sarah's wrist like a pair of handcuffs, determined to protect her by a sudden and strong force of will.

The Native woman forced her attention to Tekari and started to push her away. "Pirates," she said quickly, fear blatantly plausible in her voice, she gasped for air to aid her thumping heart. "Take your sister, to the forest. Go, you-" The woman was silenced abruptly as another loud bang screeched into the air. From the woman came a splash of blood and almost all of it went to Tekari, the warm crimson growing more and more abundant as it collected into her clothes.

Sarah screamed, while Tekari was in shock and watched as the woman's body fell limply to the ground and her blood dripped down her own face. Tekari got choked up while the chanting in the back of her head began in a violent crescendo: 'No... no... no...' Her hand raised up a bit, shaking vigorously. 'Wake up!' She wanted to help the limp woman as if there still was a way to help. 

The man cried out what was presumably the woman's name and ran to her side, leaning over her and grasping desperately at her blood stained shirt. She was breathing just a second ago... she was talking, now nothing. Devoid of everything, permanently. 

Tekari brought a hand to her mouth as the urge to vomit rose in her chest... But, Sarah, who was screaming something unintelligible, pulled at Tekari's wrist fiercely until she obliged and followed, snapping back to the reality yet again and to the danger that they were in. They both turned to cross the road, only to have a bright red jeep pull up violently in front of them, skidding to a halt and kicking up a cloud of thick dust and dirt. The jeep didn't have any doors or windows on it and inside were six men, each one had a piece of red clothing on them in some form, a bandanna, shirt, or a cloth around their arms... and each held an automatic gun in their hands.

"Get the fuck back!" The man closest to them hollered, his voice like a bullet on its own, and pointed his gun. Tekari gasped and pulled her sister back forcefully. He had no mercy within his accent-threaded voice.

Tekari went to run the other way, but three more men on four wheelers came from the green wall of forrest. They held guns too and wore the same colors... it matched the the color of the blood that was apart of almost every object within her sight now.

Sarah was screaming and tried shrinking into her sisters embrace, beginning to cry and sob, while something in Tekari's head started to pound. It started to grow more and more as the men approached closer and she gritted her teeth. She assumed it to be fear or the anger at the fact that she couldn't run when the urge to do so was so powerful. She frantically glanced over at the others, they were being separated by the men, holding their hands up and getting to their knees. 

When Tekari looked back in front of her, one of them had gotten close and ripped Sarah from her grip. She tried to recover her panicking sister, but was shoved away violently and fell to the dry dirt. Within a moment, another armed man swiped her with the end of his solid metal gun. Everything blurred again and all she could see were feet shuffling in the dirt and grass around her as she lost her ability to move. Sarah's yelling, the men's orders and laughter... sickening laughter echoed in her mind, before the darkness had taken her away from it all.


	5. Prisoners

The world spun in a hazy circle beyond the darkness of her eyelids as Tekari tried uselessly to shake away the nausea, but it only made it worse the more she thought about it. She distracted herself from it by trying to piece together her memory and at first she gave up when it refused to return, but she kept persisting. 

She was a tourist on an island, flashes of blood, gunfire and death flailed before her waning consciousness.

In a sudden instant, her mind snapped awake as she realized what was happening, the situation at hand, but her body refused to allow it. Everything was blurry in the world around her and faint voices echoed off of the walls of her eardrums.

Voices... People were talking.

He was speaking frantically, laughing harshly on occasion and thats when she realized there were three unfamiliar men's voices. Slowly her mind grew more aware of where she was. All she saw was her own limp body and a rickety floor of bone-dry wood. Through the splits between the boards, she could see the dark dirt beneath along with bits of trash and empty bottles. When she went to touch the painful throbbing at her temple with her hand, she discovered her hands were tied above her head and by the jingling sound that came when she moved a little she could tell she was tied with thick chains that were digging into her bones.

An angry hiss through her teeth left her as nothing but red hot pain ripped at her every nerve due to the little effort she used to move her hands a bit. Biting down on a cloth that was tightly pulling her cheeks back into a forced smile; stifling her speech, impairing her sobs of fear and pain. Despite how much it hurt, she held her tears so she could look around... It was ungodly bright out, the heat of the day made her sweat bead on her forehead, but she couldn't feel the heat of the sun directly on her skin as they were in a small little gazebo made of palm trees and warped wood.

She didn't know where she was, which added to her confusion and the memory of the casual murder she witnessed before her, so simply acted, so simply done- it scared her what was happening. What did the Native woman say briefly before she was done speaking permanently?

Pirates.

Pirates? Like the legitimate pirates that actually raid boats and held people hostage? What were they going to do? Kill them, that was the first thing that plagued her groggy mind... but why haven't they done that already? or perhaps they have and she was trapped in the grasp of hell now... no, she was alive. The nagging pain in her muscles was too dull for her to be in hell. 

Slowly, her vision cleared and wasn't as annoyingly blurry, she found her gaze wandering. Sarah was at her side, asleep and tied in the same manner as she, hanging from a wooden beam above them. She had a bruise on her temple but it wasn't anything too major. Tekari assumed it was from the pirates, when they knocked them out. The memory itself, the end of the gun hitting the side of her head, made a harsh throbbing pain return to her temple.

Suddenly, someone very close to her started to yell. It was so load and fierce, it made her fear spiral up again and she quickly returned her gaze back to the wood floors, feigning sleep as the dull pain in her temple dissipated but her heart rate jacked up. She couldn't make out what he was saying, until the voice hissed lowly but viciously. "You're not even worth a bullet." There was a moment of silence and the sound of metal on metal being clicked together.

"No, please-" 

A deafening boom exploded into the room, shrill and quick. It made Tekari flinch and close her eyes tighter. She, surprisingly, was successful at holding in a shriek that would have given her away as being awake but not a second later, a man had fallen to the floor at her feet with a heavy, limp thud, making Tekari's heart stop when she saw he had a hole blasted straight into his temple, leaving blood to pour from it and onto boards and through the spaces between them, down to the dark dirt below. His eyes seemed to stare at her, frozen in his last seconds of life, eyes wide with pure horror. 

Tekari stared back with the same expression, frozen with fear and unable to tear her eyes away.

The heavy sigh of a man was heard and something spoken in a different language quite leisurely. "Clean this shit up, hermano. I'm gonna chill for a bit..." The voice commanded. "And see if those two putas are fucking awake yet." Tekari immediately closed her eyes and went limp, her head hanging, her sweaty dark hair forming a translucent curtain around her face. 

She could hear the body being dragged away as a hand suddenly shot out and gripped her hair, lifitng her head up. The roots aching and weaving with his calloused fingers, defining each clenched knuckle against her scalp. Her eyes remained closed, the darkness shielded her from meeting the eyes of the pirate that turned her face this way and that. Abruptly, there was a tapping on the center of her eyelid, making her flinch and clench her lids angrily. She thought she gave away that she was awake, but then her head was dropped, putting a sudden stress on her neck.

"That ones getting there." The man in front of her grunted. Once she was sure the attention was off of her, she opened an eye to peek at what the pirate was doing, watching his feet.

His attention was on Sarah now and his green bandana covered his mouth, but it couldn't hide the smug grin Tekari knew was hidden beneath it, she only chanced a look at him once. "Blondes have always gotten a good price, huh?" He drawled, a chuckle leaving him.

Sarah turned her face to the side, making Tekari realize her sister was very well awake.

The man let out another laugh before his hand grabbed her chin. Like he had done to Tekari, he turned it this way and that, studying every detail like he's done it a thousand times before. "Hell, I might buy this one."

An angry groan from another man was heard on the other side of her, but Tekari's eyes were fixed on the pirate who studied her sister like a mere valuable. "Then, I get dibs on the other one." She heard another man say and her blood boiled even more.

"We don't have the okay, yet. We gotta get the ransom." The third voice mumbled lowly.

Ransom? Oh, no... 

Tekari heard Sarah let out a sobbing squeak as the Pirate in front of her ran a hand on her cheek, then to her neck, as if he was making to choke her, but then continuing a path to her collarbone.

Tekari's pupils dilated as the seething in her blood became too much to handle. She didn't think about the fact she may get shot. As a matter of fact, nothing passed through her thoughts. All she had on her mind was to get him away from her sobbing sister. 

Tekari, with a ridiculous amount of speed and force only adrenaline could make her possess, used the chains that held her arms above her head, to lift her body up and plant her heel into the pirates ribs. He stumbled and flew a good few feet, screaming out a 'Hey!' as if that was going to stop her. 

Tekari's mind smiled with joy when she realized she heard a small crack and knew it was his ribs. She kicked as hard as she could and would be more surprised if it didn't break at least two.

The smile quickly went away when she remembered there were men on the other side of her too and quickly, she turned her head to look. One was already heading towards her and it was like her body moved on its own, her mind took hold and all conscience was lost but not gone as adrenaline made her mind slip away for a moment.

She swiped a foot at his knee, making him trip and land on his stomach and she took that as a chance to give a blunt stomp to his cheek when he lifted his head up at her. Her heel crushed against his teeth and he grunted with surprise and pain, spitting blood onto the floor boards. 

Tekari, with anger still in her blood, was going to stomp on his stomach again, but then a load 'Bang!' stopped her and made her jump, snapping her back from the rage that suddenly took hold of her violently. The fear chased away the rage but she still felt rather brave. Brave or accomplished, one of the two but for a moment, she thought she was just shot. Then, after feeling no pain, she looked up to see a man striding over to her rather calmly.

This time, her heart did stop, but only to start a relentless pounding that felt like something trying to break free from her ribs as if it was trying to run in fear.

Something about the way he walked, or more glided slowly to her, made her nervous. She dare not meet his eyes but instead looked at his collarbone. He had a pure red tank top on with a utility belt strapped across his chest and around his muscled neck was a bundle of necklaces. One was what looked to be thin black rope and another just a red piece of cloth in a thin strip. The last one circled his neck loosely and was coated with a plastic, making the chain thick. Hanging from it was a piece of green emerald with two pointed ends. It lay neat and flat against his tan, sweat glossed skin.

Tekari's breathing became shaky as the man stood so close she could feel his own bitter breath move down her face, making her sweat condensate, choking her very pores. He laughed a little behind a closed mouth, light and dry against his throat, it was a light pitch but filled with dark humor. She imagined amusement was in his eyes and it sickened her. 

Suddenly, a hand gripped her chin, slender fingers digging into the flesh until she could almost feel the weak veins popping. She felt a tender spot on her skin that felt bruised being pressed as he forced her face up to look into his eyes. For a moment, she was dazed by them. It was like hazel was having a war with a deep green to take over. But, it was more than just color. Something in them made her feel almost violently sick, there was a darkness around his eyelids that made them stand out more. Immediately, she knew it was him that shot that Native and that he was the boss around here. There was no way this man would take willing orders from another of these men.

The cloth that dug into her cheeks was forcing her to smile in the face of death. 

The fact that her eyes widened when she looked at him didn't go unnoticed. His thin lips spread wider and bared white teeth. "Buenos diaz, Anna." He drawled slowly in a light voice but she wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were now glued to the wicked scar that went from his eyebrow and then made a road back to the center of his head, where his hair was shaved into a short mohawk, the stubble of his hair uneven and choppy. There was a thin line of red under the bump and parting flesh of the scar, showing how deep the cut was and that it wasn't going to heal anymore than that. 

How does someone even get a scar like that?

"Nice of you to join the party." He intervened in her thoughts once more.

Tekari knitted her brows together. He seemed to care so little about the two men she just kicked the hell out of, it was like he was oblivious. He also didn't seem like he was worried about her kicking him, he knew the intimidation his presence brought and the thought of kicking him or attacking him never crossed her mind even once.

She was suddenly presented with the screen of a camera after he released his vice-like hold on her jaw. It was Jay's camera, playing a video, the one he made of all of them as they were heading to the island. Tekari's eyes flicked over the screen as it was on the part where she carelessly threw Sarah's phone into the water. The sounds of Sarah yelling 'I hate you' at the top of her lungs made the man chuckle a bit. 

He took the camera and looked down at it, smiling. "Damn, you don't take no shit, huh?" He looked at her and saw the excessive look of hatred in her ever radiantly blue eyes. "What, you don't like it here? But, yet, you were the ones stupid enough to come." He was like a parent trying to lecture their kid. He paused the video when it was filming the island in the distance, a dark, shapely blotch against the horizon. Putting the camera back in her face, he stared at her with a look of both amusement and some sort of 'I can't believe you were that dumb' type of look as he shook his head. 

It made a rage inside of Tekari begin to flare up again. How the hell was she supposed to know there was going to be a whole bunch of murderous pirates running around? The man at the bar must have forgotten a little detail. Unless... He knew the pirates were here. That made her heart pound vigorously and she was more than sure that that was the case. 

The man gestured about a bit, staring at the screen of the camera. "'Let's go and explore an island', huh?" He mocked. "Be crazy, get drunk and 'live.'" He let out another dry chuckle and, despite how much it sounded like a giggle, it was one of the most ominous sounds Tekari has heard. "That decision just costed your fuckin' lives."

Tekari looked down, wanting to be away from his glare that returned to her. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to prevent the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks like a white flag of weakness. He didn't seem to notice, luckily, as he continued to talk.

"Not you two, of course... No, no, no, we have different plans for you. You two white girls seem very expensive and thats good because I like... expensive things." 

Tekari shook her head a bit. One second she thought she was going to die and the next she's going to be sold. She preferred death than the latter.

Slowly, the man she had kicked in the ribs stood up, leaning heavily against the railing of the shack. "That bitch broke my fucking ribs!" He yelled, his voice was strained with agony. The other one had gotten up as well, cradling his jaw with blood oozing from his mouth, seeping into the crevices of his teeth and down his jaw.

The man with the mohawk suddenly snapped his head in the direction of one of the men. "Who's fucking fault is that, huh?" His voice was raising and it made Tekari flinch and look down at the ground. The air suddenly became so tense she could almost see it join with the shimmering heat waves. The two pirates became still and dead silent as they were now under the piercing gaze of the superior mans eyes. 

Tekari couldn't stop the furious beating of her heart she thought had jumped out of her chest already.

"I told you to fucking check if she was awake," He started to gesture towards Tekari... with a pistol in his hand. She was flinching and tensing as it waved about in front of her. "You said she was 'almost' awake-"

"She was playing possum, man!"

The injured pirate was suddenly slammed against one of the pillars mercilessly, making the roof of the hut shake. The man with the mohawk had his hands twisted into his shirt, getting a death grip on him as he glared threateningly into his eyes. "Don't fucking interrupt me, hermano." He hissed through powerfully clenched teeth, every word seeped from him like poison that could kill at any second.

The injured pirate had a look on his face as he feared for his life, which, from hearing the scarred mans words, was most likely on the line. His eyes were wide and his hands were up a bit, shaking with every barely contained breath. 

The man with the mohawk shoved the injured one so he stumbled down the steps and onto the dirt ground. "Get the fuck out of here," He commanded, then turned to the other. "You too, disappear." He whistled and pointed in the direction of what looked like more shacks in the distance where there were even more pirates scattered about. All loaded with a gun of some sort and wearing a splash of red. It brought back the memories of the driver and that woman in horrifying flashes. 

Immediately, the two men hurried off into the distance, one clenching his rib and the other, his bleeding mouth.   
The man turned back to Tekari and she expected the rage to still be burning in his eyes, but instead as he turned to her, he had a little smile on his face as if nothing happened. The anger in his eyes were shaded by something not short of amusement as if he was proud of his outburst. Tekari cocked an eyebrow. He just had a moodswing, a rather deadly one. 

The pirate approached a table that was to the side where the camera was and where a bunch of wallets were placed. He picked up a wallet, picking through it and pulling out an ID card. "So, who do we have here?" He spoke quickly and paced around a bit before pointing to Sarah. "Sarah aaaaaand..." He whistled as he pointed to Tekari and clicked his tongue once he was facing her direction. "Tekari... from California." 

Tekari didn't mean to catch his gaze but, once she did, she couldn't look away. He had the eyes of a predator and she knew she would make perfect prey, she was trapped and wounded. Her eyes were still fierce though, burning blue like the ocean in the hot sun. The man cocked his head to the side a bit before smiling a little and approaching, placing the camera back on the table.

She watched him like a hawk, studied him as he did the same to her.

He suddenly caught her off guard and ran both of his hands through her wet hair, pushing the loose strands out of her view. She growled a little and attempted to pull away but the chains and his grip on the sides of her face prevented, her attempts to escape were useless while he laughed at the fact she even attempted. 

"What's wrong, Anna?" He whispered to her, eyebrows raised and pausing like he was waiting for a respond. She only closed her eyes tightly and attempted to pull away again. "You no having fun anymore, hm? Have I failed to entertain you? Oh, don't worry, chica. We will have some fun soon." 

Tekari bit down fiercely on the cloth clenched in her teeth. He only chuckled softly and went to smooth his hands in her hair again but a sudden static from his radio made him stop. Then a rather raspy and accented voice spoke; "Vaas."   
The man with the mohawk clicked his tongue a little. "Excuse me, Anna." He sighed as if he was some gentlemen, removing the radio from his belt and looking at her as he spoke into it. "Yeah." 

There was a second of static as he reached up to check the chains on her wrists were secure. "Stop scaring the hostages, I need you to take care of the rejects." 

The man with the scar smirked a little and put the radio back on his belt. "Alright, chica. I have business to attend to but, I promise we will have some fun later and then you will be laughing and smiling like you were yesterday, okay?" He had a sly tone as if he was playing the role of someone who was generally concerned with her well being. It made her stomach churn, with anger or with worry, she couldn't really decipher. 

Once he had left, walking off into the camp of huts, Tekari looked at Sarah mournfully. Her head down and eyes clenched tightly as if she was trying to force herself to wake up from this awful dream. Tekari would have thought it was a dream as well, but the consistent pain of the chains on her wrist and the pounding in the back of her head as the memories flashed in front of her eyes was all the 'pinch me' she was going to need in order to know this was no dream or nightmare. 

Tekari didn't want to disturb her sister or make her open her eyes. It was enough to comprehend all that was happening while they were closed. 

Instead, Tekari looked around at her surroundings, the others came to mind. She had hoped they were in the hut they were in. They weren't and that made her panic. She started to look around for any sign that they were around but there was nothing. It was just she and Sarah, along the pirates that seemed to swarm around everywhere. Tekari hasn't gone one second without seeing a flash of red clothing.

After watching some cargo trucks coming in and out of the camp, she eventually just hung her head sorrowfully. She couldn't see the others, but she wouldn't assume the worst. They had to be somewhere... 

But, there was always going to be that little voice in the back of her head and she couldn't push it away. This was real. People were dying and they were being held hostage here. Agonizingly ironic as the island seemed so peaceful and nice. It was like a movie, going to an island and being captured but, Tekari thought that those movies missed the reality part, though. No one gets out in a situation like this... do they?

Her eyes had begun to grow heavy as she lifted her head up as the fear was aching in her bones and making her heart pound. She did something she never thought she would do in her lifetime. 

She didn't pray, she begged.


End file.
